* WINNER of the Young Adult section of the New Zealand Book Children's Awards
* Shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards
* A Junior Library Guild Selection

Fifteen year old Willem lives in hiding in a small Belgian village on the edge of the great Sonian Forest. Willem and his mother have been living in secret for most of his life, since his father, a famous magician, fell out of favour with the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

It is a world not much different from our own, in which small 'saurs' are a part of everyday life. Some are farmed, some are pets, others, more dangerous are avoided. There are rumours of even greater 'saurs' roaming the uncharted islands of the Americas.

When a girl from the village is killed, it becomes obvious that there are hidden terrors in the forest and that they are connected with Napoleon's plans to conquer Europe.

But Willem has a secret that could interfere with the emperor's plans and Napoléon will stop at nothing to find him.

War is coming, and young Willem is no longer safe, for Gaillemarde is just a stone's throw from the fields of Waterloo -- fields which will soon run red with blood.

The first book of the Battlesaurus duology

Suggested Age Range: 12yrs +

Rating:
(15 ratings by visitors to this site)

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My Rating:(15 ratings by visitors to this site)

...a compelling and powerful read....

- NSW Premiers Literary Awards Judges - April 2016

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With Battlesaurus, Brian Falkner has done the seemingly impossible: he has made the premise of battle-trained dinosaurs fighting in the Napoleonic Wars thoroughly believable.
It is 1815 and Willem — who is not really Willem — at 15 has been in hiding his whole life. His father was a master magician in Napoléon’s court but, when he ran foul of Napoléon’s plan to battle train the creatures that roamed the forest, he was killed in retribution.
His wife and child escaped into hiding, but now dinosaurs are ravaging the English and only Willem, the boy who is a ‘greater conjurer than the father’, stands between Napoléon and his prize

Battlesaurus is a cracking read. From the slow reveal of the terror in the forest, to the secrets of Willem’s past, through to the espionage and ultimate betrayal, the pacing and plotting is excellent, yet never at the expense of the character development.
Falkner brings a sensitive and compassionate hand to his extensive cast.
Each character is flawed in their own way, courageous at times, witty at others.
It is a combination that makes for a compelling and powerful read.

a well-constructed, imaginative slice of world alternative history...

- Kinderlit Canada - April 2016

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In my real life, away from Kinderlit, I would probably never pick up a book like Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo; I’m not one for alternate histories, and the dinosaurs-at-The Battle of Waterloo premise comes off, to me, as profoundly gimmicky.
(Profoundly gimmicky, incidentally, is why I generally avoid alternate histories.)

Essentially, this is the story of that fabled battle, but in another dimension, where dinosaurs roamed the Earth alongside man.
Europe is full of smaller grade dinosaurs, such as raptors, which make the forests treacherous; North America is unsettled, over-run as it is by dino-giants, like T-Rex.

Napoleon, whose French army is battling against the coalition forces, headed by the British and the Prussians, is struggling.
Struggling, that is, until he unleashes his greatest weapons: Giant dinos, imported from the Americas and weaponized.
Of course, there’s one person (why is there never more than one?) who can stop him: A teen conjurer with a penchant for soothing dinosaurs.
Can Napoleon stop him before he can stop Napoleon?

Seasoned author Brian Falkner (he of the Recon Team Angel series) handles all of the tricky bits with aplomb, and his ability to build tension is really quite marvelous; it builds to such a degree, in fact, that it feels at certain points that it might rip the book apart.

The set-up might be a bit of a tough sell for reluctant readers, or those intimidated by history with which they aren’t familiar, and the dialogue could feel a bit stilted to those same readers, as Falkner endeavours (and succeeds) to capture an early 19th century pattern of speech.
Additionally, despite the ferocious looking “saur” being ridden by a French soldier on the front cover of the book, this is not a mile-a-minute actionfest.
(It becomes one, eventually, but the build up is quite long.)
The adventurous, seasoned young reader will be well-rewarded, and I would be unsurprised to discover that Battlesaurus, Rampage at Waterloo has become a favourite for many.

Not a book built to draw for reluctant readers, no, but a well-constructed, imaginative slice of world alternative history, and proof that Brian Falkner, like a French soldier astride a majestic T-Rex, is a force with which to be reckoned.

Thrilling and positively addicting...

- School Library Journal - January 2016

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Falkner gives Napoleon a toothy secret weapon in this decidedly alternate history.

Part historical fiction, part dinosaur fantasy mash-up, this book will appeal to history buffs and dinosaur fanatics alike.

The battle scenes between Napoleon's army and the British are depicted in incredible detail, making readers feel as if they are right in the midst of the fight . . .

The first of a promising duology that readers will find thrilling and positively addicting.

one can only hope that Falkner is a swift writer...

- Booklist - January 2016

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This alternative history asks, what if Napoleon won the battle at Waterloo . . .
The novel quickly ramps up to suspense, immersing the reader in the swiftly moving plot.
Characters are very well drawn, capturing the reader's sympathy.
With an ending wide open for a sequel, complete with a plot-thickening cliff-hanger, one can only hope that Falkner is a swift writer